Last Updated on April 12, 2020 by Husain Parvez
Did you know that you could do something as little as learning how to disinfect your iPhone to help break the chain of a pandemic! Here’s a complete guide on why it is essential to keep your smartphone clean physically, and all the safe ways you can do it without messing up its insides.
Physical socializing is at a halt due to the pandemic outbreak of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), social distancing is maintained, emphasis on “washing your hands” is at a peak. People all over the world are at a lockdown in their homes to stop the virus from spreading further, and modern life as we know it as at a standstill – sounds eerily apocalyptic. While it may seem like the end of the world, with grim news all over, the fact of the matter is that fighting the Coronavirus is not rocket science, as long as we collectively decide to take the case into our own hands (pun intended).
Our mobile phones have become an extension of who we are, and while surviving without toilet paper might still be possible for some, we wouldn’t last one day in quarantine if there wasn’t the technology of smartphones to keep us occupied. Many people are spending most of their time on their iPhone’s at home, doing most of the socialising activities using their mobile devices. This includes binging on Netflix movies and TV shows, working from home or even online schooling for those geeks who need to keep the grades up. However, one fact that you might be disregarding is that your iPhone is a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses!
Why is it important to disinfect your iPhone?
Before creating a worldwide panic among billions of mobile users all across the world, we’d like to clarify that mobile devices are not the primary source behind the widespread of the Coronavirus. However, considering that your mobile phone is a high-touch surface, along with studies that show how bacteria and viruses thrive on mobile screens, learning how to clean your iPhone and disinfect it safely should be a daily ritual for most of us amid the current circumstances. While there is still research being done on how long the Covid-19 virus can survive on different surfaces, most microbes can stay active anywhere from a few hours to days at a stretch.
Note: Before you start cleaning and disinfecting the iPhone, make sure the iPhone is unplugged and powered off and stripped of cases and skins.
What to avoid when cleaning the iPhone
- Cleaning products such as window cleaners or kitchen cleaners should not even be near your iPhone. In general, thinking of disinfecting your beloved mobile phone using any of these cleaning products is a bad idea.
- These cleaning products have harsh chemicals in them, which will strip away the oleophobic protective coating on the screen. This coating is essential for the screen as it helps to prevent fingerprints and water from settling on the screen.
- Using pure alcohol on your screen will kill 99% of the germs and also strip away the oleophobic protective coating.
- Water, soap and hand sanitizers should only be for your hands. Your iPhone may be water-resistant, but keeping your devices away from water is the best practice to avoid any internal damage and clogging of any ports and grills.
- Bleach is for your clothes or covering up a crime, not for your iPhone since the strong chemicals can wreak havoc on the screen and the housing of the device.
- Do not boil your iPhone. Yes, it will kill all the bacteria but if and definitely will render your iPhone useless along with it too.
- Nail polish removers have a harsh chemical presence and will erode the protective coating off your screen and also in some cases damage the LCD/LED panel itself.
- Spraying cleaning solutions (for mobile use of course) directly on your device is not advised as the cleaning solution can seep into unintentional places such as microphone holes and speaker grill.
Guide to Clean iPhone gently and effectively
Now that you know everything that you should entirely avoid when trying to disinfect your iPhone during the ongoing pandemic, let’s understand how you should systemically proceed forward. There are plenty of effective ways to make sure that the surface of your mobile phone is neat and clean, rid of all malicious microbes, and still, keep the iPhone 100% functional at all times. We’ve handpicked the tried and tested products that allow cleaning mobile devices effectively and have been approved by medical experts.
- Zeus wet cleaning wipes (for phones)
- Clorox Disinfectant wipes
- Any generic mobile cleaning kit from amazon
- PhoneSoap (nothing to do with actual soap)
Before you start cleaning and disinfecting your iPhone, make sure the device is unplugged, switched off and stripped away of any cases or skins.
Method 1: Disinfect iPhone Wet Wipes
Clinically approved wet wipes contain the approved amount of alcohol-based chemicals that have been proved effective in killing all forms of bacteria and viruses to an astounding 99.9% guarantee. If you have been able to access a convenience store near you that miraculously does have some cleaning wipes left in their inventory, it would be the simplest way to combat the Coronavirus pandemic, starting with your iPhone.
- Make sure your hands are clean before cleaning your iPhone using wet wipes.
- Open the wet wipes carefully so that it does not get contaminated by itself.
- Use the corners of the wipes, gently stroke the iPhone screen and elsewhere to remove dust and grimy fingerprints and let it air dry.
- Apple, on their website, recommends it is safe to use Clorox wipes on the device with careful use of course.
- Using wet wipes will not only leave your iPhone shiny but squeaky clean, bacteria-free and smelling fresh.
Method 2: Disinfect iPhone using a Phone Cleaning Kit
Germophobes have been preparing for the pandemic situation for years, and mobile accessories manufacturers have been catering to them with phone cleaning kits. These kits are designed specifically to clean out mobile devices and do away with any impending health threats that might be lurking on the surfaces. Easily replaceable with cleaning kits for eyewear, the combination of the cleaning solution and the medically-approved microfibre cloth makes it the right armour against germs.
- Again, make sure your hands are clean before using the phone cleaning kit.
- Spray some cleaning solution on a microfibre cloth and gently wipe your device and let it air dry.
- If there are some streaks left after using a wet microfibre cloth, use a dry microfibre cloth and clean them.
- If you are using Q-tip version of a phone cleaning kit, be gentle with your strokes while wiping the ports and speaker grills because the edges might catch some of the lint from the swabs.
Method 3: Use PhoneSoap to Clean iPhone
Owing to the technological advancements in medical science, we have access to medically-certified devices for cleaning out and disinfecting mobile devices. PhoneSoap is a revolutionary device which uses UV-C ultraviolet short wavelength that is rare on earth because the atmosphere blocks these rays. What does this scientific jargon mean to a layman? Using rays and beams to kill bacteria! The whole process is contained in a device because these rays are harmful to the naked eye.
- Clean your hands before handling the device to ensure more bacteria do not transfer to your device just for precaution.
- Open the rectangular PhoneSoap device and place your iPhone in the container and then close it.
- Let the UV-C bulbs do its magic. You cannot see the whole process as the bulbs are contained within the device, and these ultraviolet rays are harmful to the naked human eye.
- You will be let known when the process is finished when the blue LED light turns off.
Cleaning your iPhone case
The entire purpose of slapping a case on your iPhone is to not only add some style to it but provide the much-needed protection to the glass and metal sandwich that’s one drop away from shattering. However, when it comes to fighting the microbial enemies that you don’t see coming, the protective case can ironically be the item that puts you in harm’s way. If you are using a protective case with your iPhone that gives the microbes an underbelly to stay safe, what good it will be to clean your iPhone?
You can use water and soap for your plastic or silicone cases to rinse off dust and grime, but if the protective case has some luxuries materials like Alcantara or leather, you should do some research on what cleaning products and methods to use to avoid any damage or stains to your leather case. However, it is much easier to clean out a mobile phone case, than it is the entire phone, so don’t laze out on it when you’re considering all-round disinfection of your iPhone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to pour hot water to disinfect my iPhone?
While boiling water may technically be a deterrent to clean all forms of microbes and an effective sterilization method, pouring it over your iPhone may be a death sentence for it. Not only could the hot water cause the adhesive to loosen up that keeps the phone water-resistant, but it could very well render the display screen dead.
Using warm water to clean the iPhone would not work either, since some microbes, even the Covid-19 virus can survive for a certain time under the hot conditions. However, adding any form of disinfecting solution to the water, allows it to break down the molecules of the virus, making it an effective offence against the contaminated surface of the iPhone.
Will the Oleophobic coating disappear if I clean the iPhone?
Apple has implemented the oleophobic coating on iPhone screens, just like the most top of the line manufacturers for years now. This invisible layer on top of the iPhone display allows the phone to stay free from fingerprints, offering a better visual experience to the users. While it has been experienced that the oleophobic layer disappears over years of daily usage, you might still have it if you own a new iPhone.
While it’s not the end of the world if you lose the fingerprint-resistant coating from the iPhone screen, using a strong cleaning chemical can cause it to wear off much faster. Rubbing the iPhone screen with hardened chemicals for window cleaning and floor cleaning will most likely cause the oleophobic layer to wear off quickly.
What if there is no mobile cleaning solution at hand?
Considering the rampant overbuying of necessary goods that are taking place all across the country, it wouldn’t be surprising if you can’t get yourself a mobile cleaning kit or disinfecting wipes. Moreover, some European countries that have taken the brunt of the force of the Coronavirus pandemic, even the ability to get out of the house and buy the necessary cleaning products is simply not an option anymore.
That’s when you go full-on DIY to create a cleaning solution with ingredients available right in your kitchen. All you need is a mixture of 50% distilled water (mineral water would do too), and mix it up with 50% of white vinegar. Using a microfiber cloth, dampen it in the solution and gently wipe to disinfect iPhone screen and wait as the solution dries off.
Final Words
Disinfecting your iPhone seems a small role to play to prevent yourself from getting the virus and breaking the chain of spreading the virus, but these little steps will make a difference to flatten the curve. With the Coronavirus becoming the largest threat to modern civilization as we know it, we need to take every possible step to ensure to fight the good fight. It is the little things that you can do it keep the infection from spreading or even catching it in the first place. Even with the modern iPhone certified to be water-resistant, we’re not going to recommend that you give the poor phone a Clorox bath, but using disinfectant Lysol wipes should be fine.
Are you doing your part to make sure that the terror of the Coronavirus comes to an end in the foreseeable future by taking the necessary precautions? Reach out to us for any questions or suggestions that you may have on disinfecting your iPhone, and we’ll be glad to buzz back.
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